Panoramic interactive system

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for viewing of a panorama or large portion thereof by selectively displaying a portion thereof on a video display device or other means and in a manner that forces the user to change his own orientation to vary the portion of the panorama viewed. Such a method and apparatus coordinates the user&#39;s normal feedback responses associated with changing orientation to changes in the portion of the panorama viewed. In a preferred embodiment, a simple apparatus for allowing a user or users to view the recorded panorama is disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of Application Ser. No.07/448,263 filed Dec. 11, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,762.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Panoramic recording systems are known and have used moving imagers,fish-eye lenses, multiple cameras or panoramic lenses for recording of apanorama or a large portion thereof. Many of the known techniques aresuitable for a still panorama, however, even in this case, changinglight conditions or changes within the panorama can cause distortion andloss of accuracy.

The use of panoramic lenses or fish-eye lenses in recording of an imageproduce a distorted form of the image on a film record. The film recordis basically a circular mapping of the panorama and are difficult to usein that format. It is known to take these film records and project themon a cylindrical screen for viewing. In the case of real time panoramicimaging, recording of the image in this particular form does providegood detail, but viewing in the circular form is not particularlysatisfactory.

One example of a different method for recording a generally staticpanoramic image is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,862 which issuedNov. 14, 1978. This patent discloses a system where the panorama isscanned in a series of discreet segments and the information is recordedin a format suitable for use in displaying of portions of that panoramaon a video display unit. The time interval to effectively scan theentire panorama renders this type of direct recording of the panoramaonly useful for generally static panoramas or ones in which real timeimaging is not critical. With such a system, changing light conditionsmay also cause portions of the panorama to be less visible.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,113, which issued to Stechemesser et al Mar. 15,1966, discloses a particular image gathering arrangement which utilizespanoramic lenses and results in recording of the panorama on a filmrecord in a ring type shape. This patent also illustrates how therecorded images can be reprojected and shown on a cylindrical screen.

There remains a need to provide a simple system for viewing of apanorama image stored in a suitable accessible record media.

There also remains a need to provide a system for the convenient andeffective viewing of a real panorama image while providing the user withsome of the physical sensations associated with normal scanning of anactual panorama.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for viewing of a realpanoramic image where the apparatus comprises frame buffer means fordigitally storing the real panoramic image and means for viewing of aselected segment of the stored real panoramic image. The viewing meansincludes user controlled moveable viewing screen means, with thisviewing screen means displaying the selected segment of the storedpanoramic image. The viewing screen means has sensing means for sensingrotational movement of the viewing means and in accordance with thissensed rotational movement, adjusting the selected segment of the storedreal panoramic image stored in the frame buffer means. With thisarrangement, the user selectively moves the viewing screen means to varythe selected segment of the stored real panoramic image displayed by theviewing screen means.

According to an aspect of the invention, a video display viewing tableis disclosed comprising a base portion and a top section rotatablerelative to the base portion. The top section is supported by the baseby a fixed shaft which rotates with the top section. A bearing suitablysupports the top section to the base. The shaft has associated therewithan optical shaft encoder whereby rotation of the top section relative tothe base can be sensed and estimated by the optical shaft encoder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the recording of a still panorama;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the recording of a real time panorama;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating various types of panoramic lensesreferred to as P-lenses, type A and type B;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating the recording of a panorama using aP-lens to produce the ring shaped initial film record;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective showing the projection of the filmrecord of FIG. 4 and the subsequent recording of the projected record bymeans of a Ross;

FIG. 6 shows the preferred rectangular panorama record produced by theapparatus of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating the projection of the film record ofthe first stage of the invention and the subsequent recording thereofand eventual display on a video display device;

FIG. 8 is schematic of a portion of a rectangular panoramic record beingsampled for display on video glasses associated therewith;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of the field of view of two eyes;

FIG. 10 is a representation of a viewer's field of view;

FIGS. 10a, 10b and 10c show certain displays on the screens of videoglasses;

FIG. 11 is a representation of various fields of view of a user;

FIGS. 11a, 11b and 11c show certain displays on the screens of the videoglasses under different actions of the user;

FIG. 12 is a vertical section of a video display viewing arrangement;and

FIG. 13 is a top view of the pulley arrangement illustrating the variouscomponents associated with the rotatable sections of the viewingarrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The method and apparatus of the present invention convert a stillpanorama into a conventional rectangular panorama record suitable foruse in selective display on a video display device. Such a conventionalrectangular panorama record is known, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No.4,125,862. Such an arrangement has a user control which allows the userto select what portion of the rectangular panorama record that he wishesto have displayed on the video display device and for simulating movingwithin the panorama by adjusting the controls.

The first step 2 of the method illustrated in FIG. 1 requires recordingof the panorama in a distorted form preferably as a ring or portionthereof on a film record, resulting in a circular mapping. Thisrecording is accomplished, for example, by using a F-lens 3 and aconventional camera arrangement 5 to produce a record 50 as generallyshown at the bottom of FIG. 4. Each one of the ring shaped images 50would represent the panorama at a single point in time or correspond toa still panorama. Each record 50 provides a distorted recording of thepanorama and is generally difficult to directly use by individuals oreffectively use by means of a video display device. What is normallydone with this type of recording is to project the image as set out inthe second step 4 of FIG. 1 which requires projecting the film record 50in a manner to produce an undistorted projected image of the panoramasuitable for viewing on a cylindrical screen.

The projection of the film record 50 is illustrated in FIG. 5 and, inthis case, is shown for projecting of a series of film records 48 whichwould be used in conversion of a real time panorama. In the case of astill panorama, the film record 50 is merely projected generally using asimilar optical system, as used in the recording, to remove thedistortion and allow reproduction of the panorama on a cylindricalscreen, labelled 26 in FIG. 5.

Panoramic lenses 3, as shown in FIG. 3, cause the image to be compressedat the narrow portion 52 and expanded at the wider portion 54,illustrated in record 50 of FIG. 4. This compression of the image makesit important to have a high resolution capability in the initialrecording. The use of P-lenses 3 and high resolution film photography isparticularly suitable, although the invention is not limited by thiscombination.

The high resolution is required to provide the accuracy in theprojecting step 4 and determines to a large extent the accuracy of therecording step 6 of the projected image in the second stage of themethod. The film records 50, in the form of a circular map shown at thebottom of FIG. 4, represent the entire panorama, with the innermostcircular portion 52 representing the lower portion of the panoramascanned, and portion 54 representing the upper panorama scanned Theresolution required for recording of the lower portion of the panoramais higher due to the compression thereof. The degree of distortion andmanner of distortion will vary with the type of panoramic lens 3 used orfish-eye lens.

The next step 6 in the method requires recording of the undistortedprojected image in a manner to record the panorama as a rectangularpanorama 70 shown in FIG. 6. This step 6 is shown in FIG. 5 where acamera 29 is rotated about the panoramic lens 25 for recording of theprojected panoramic image. This then results in the panorama beingconverted to a rectangular panorama record which can use conventionaltechniques 8, as shown in FIG. 1, for viewing thereof.

In a preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, it is possible tofurther process the rectangular panorama record, or the subsequentdisplay of that record, to adjust the rectangular panorama, asillustrated in step 10, to artificially introduce two version of theimage &or separate eyes of a viewer to introduce a synthetic parallaxeffect. This step increases the realism of the produced image and usesthe video glasses 99 generally shown in FIG. 7. These video glasses haveseparate screens 100 and 102 associated with each lens of the glassesand thus the image reproduced on each screen by step 12 would beslightly different to introduce this desired effect.

The method, as generally set out in the first three steps of FIG. 1,allows for the accurate recording of the panorama, albeit in a distortedform, followed by the projection of this initial record to remove thedistortion whereafter the projected image is then used for recording ina conventional rectangular panorama record the first step 2 isconsidered a first stage of the method, whereas the second and thirdsteps 4 and 6 are considered a second stage of the method.

The accuracy of the recording in the first step can be reproduced in theconventional rectangular panorama record. The time requirement for thefirst step is very short, whereas the time requirement for the secondrecording is much longer. By recording in this manner, the accuracy ofthe first recording flows through to the resulting rectangular panoramarecord. The initial recording occurs quickly due to known technology andthe subsequent recording the projected image to produce the conventionalrectangular panorama record is time independent with respect to therecording of the actual panorama.

The benefits of the method, generally set out in FIG. 1, can further berealized for the various steps set out in the real time recording of apanorama exemplified in FIG. 2. The flow chart of FIG. 2 still requiresthe recording 14 of the panorama in a distorted form, but in this case,a series of distorted records 48 are produced having a known timinginterval. The second step 16 requires projection of each of thesedistorted records in a manner to remove the introduced distortion toproduce an undistorted representation of the panorama. This undistortedrepresentation of the panorama is then used for recording 18 of therepresentation of the panorama in a rectangular panorama record. Theinitial recording occurs in real time, whereas the projection andsubsequent recording does not occur in real time. Thus, a very accurate,but distorted record is first obtained, followed by the projection ofthe record to remove the distortion and the subsequent recording of therepresentation in a rectangular panorama record. To complete the method,it is necessary to introduce the required timing information by step 20to result in the series of rectangular panorama records producing thedesired representation of the real time panorama. As can be appreciated,there is timing information associated with the initial recording andthis can be introduced into the sequencing of the series of rectangularpanorama records once they have been recorded.

FIG. 3 illustrates various types of panoramic lenses 3 referred to asP-lenses, type A and type B. Both types of P-lenses operatesatisfactorily and are preferrably used in the initial recording of theactual panorama.

FIG. 4 shows the recording of a panorama using a P-lens and aconventional camera. This will produce the ring shaped image 50 storedon film. This is a distorted record of the actual panorama and would bedifficult for an individual to effectively use.

Each record 50 of the series of records 48 of FIG. 4 are used in theapparatus as generally shown in FIG. 5 for projecting of the record bymeans of the P-lens 25 to reproduce, in this case, the panorama on thecylindrical screen 26. Each record 50 of the series of records 48 isbrought into registration with the projecting arrangement 56 comprisinga light source 58 and a focusing lens 60. In this case, the series ofrecords 48 is unwound from reel 62 and collected on reel 64. Camera 29moves about track 31 a fixed radial distance from the panoramic lens 25.In this case, a film record 33 of a vertical segment of the panorama isproduced which, in combination with the other records produced as thecamera 29 sequentially moves about the panoramic lens, results in arectangular record of the panorama.

As can be appreciated, whatever time is required to effect the accuraterecording of the projected image is possible, as this step is not timedependent as the original record remains unchanging. Timing of thechanging panorama image is introduced once all conversion of theoriginal distorted records to the rectangular panorama record has beencompleted.

The method of recording the projected image need not use a cylindricalscreen, as the recording can be made direct using a camera arrangementmoved about the panoramic lens 25 or a CCD arrangement or other solidstate recording device sequentially moved around the panoramic lens. Ita solid state device is used, each recording position can be verticallyscanned in a sequence of steps which collectively represent the verticalscanned portion. Thus, the actual record format for recording of theprojected image or for recording of the initial image can vary as longas the desired accuracy of the final recording is satisfactory. Highresolution film for the initial recording is the most desirable today,although improvements in solid state recording may make it preferred inthe future. Direct recording of the projected image rather thanrecording from a screen may also improve accuracy.

FIG. 6 shows a preferred form of the rectangular panorama record 70produced by the apparatus of FIG. 5. In this case, the first 0° to 180°72 of the panorama are stored in an upper part of the record and portion180° to 360° 74 are recorded in the lower part of the record resultingin the equal segments being stacked one atop the other in the buffer.This results in an approximate overall 3:5 image ratio (when thevertical scan is about 55°) which is easily stored using existingstorage devices and existing buffers suitable for High Definitiontelevision. Such buffers or storage devices have sufficient capacity topermit only portions of the image to be displayed with good resolution.This is necessary, as typically only a portion of the panoramic recordis being scanned at any point in time. This type of ratio is preferred,but other arrangements are possible for dividing the recorded panoramasuitable for storage in common buffers having an overall image ratio of3:5. The exact storage arrangement will vary depending upon the numberof degrees in the vertical direction scanned. Different bufferarrangements can be designed based on particulars of the panoramarecorded and the requirements of the overall system.

FIG. 7 shows the second stage of the method which is essentially timeindependent. It includes the projection 80 of the film record to producean actual projection representation of the recorded panorama, whichcould be viewed on a cylindrical screen, and this projectedrepresentation is then rerecorded using a rotating optical slit scannerfor producing a film record (step 82) or a rotating optical slit scannerin combination with a CCD device (step 84). After the rectangularrecords have been produced and the necessary timing informationreintroduced into the resulting series, the record can be accessed usingconventional technology such as a high density T.V., VCR 86, 86, oroptical disc player, depending upon the type of format used, incombination with a frame buffer 90 and various control arrangements forselecting which portion of the actual record the viewer wishes toconsider. Such variation can be imparted to the system by the joystickcontrol 92 or the use of the video glasses 99 which are responsive tothe head movement of the user, as but two examples. The selected portionof the panorama is displayed on video display device 106.

The recording of the projected representation has been described on thebasis that the projected representation is stationary and the recordingarrangement moves. It is possible to sequentially rotate the projectedrepresentation and have the recording arrangement stationary.

An enhancement to the viewing of the series of rectangular panoramicrecords, either by this method or any other method, can be accomplishedby processing the signal to produce a synthetic parallax effect similarto the parallax effect used by human eyes. As shown in FIG. 8, the videoglasses 99 have two screens 100 and 102 for viewing of a particularportion of the record. Human eyes, as shown in FIG. 9, have anoverlapped field of view indicated by the crosshatching 91 of FIG. 9. Toreproduce this effect, a portion 104 of the overall panoramic record 106being sampled is used for each of the viewing screens 100 and 102. Oneof the viewing screens would only look at a limited portion of 104,indicated by the bracketed area 108. The opposite viewing screen wouldreceive the signal resulting from the bracketed portion 110. Thisresults in an overlapped area of the portion 104 of the record,indicated by 112, and thus, synthetically produces an effect similar tothe overlap illustrated in FIG. 9. In order to produce this, computersoftware merely selects the appropriate portion of the record to bedisplayed with respect to each of the video screens 100 and 102, inaccordance with the principles set out above.

A further enhancement of the viewing of these types of records isillustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 illustrates a particular fieldof view 120 of the user 122 provided with the video glasses 99. As longas the user does not tilt his head from side to side, the horizon ineach of the viewing screens will remain horizontal FIG. 10b. However, ifhe tilts his head from side to side, this will result in an artificialtilt of the horizon which is an effect which would not be experienced ifthe user merely tilted his head in actual life. To overcome thisdeficiency, the video glasses 99 can include separate means 125 formaintaining the represented horizons of the image horizontal, asillustrated in embodiments of FIG. 10a, b and c. The glasses can beprovided with their own motorized arrangement 125 for effecting thissympathetic movement of the screens to correspond with actual reality,or computer software can be used and the angle of the glasses sensedwith the resulting view to be displayed merely shifted according to thissensed angle. In the mechanical arrangement of FIGS. 10 a, 10b and 10c,the viewing screens are mounted for rotation in a circle mount 126having drives 125 provided at either side of the glasses.

A further enhancement is shown in FIG. 11. In this case, as the user 122tilts his head back to view the higher part of the image 128, a reducedfield of view is seen and the portion of the screen 130 outside of thisimage viewing area is blacked out, as illustrated in FIG. 11a. FIG. 11billustrates when the viewer's head is horizontal. FIG. 11c shows a view132 of the lower part of the field. The portion of the viewing screenwhich is not in use is blacked out to increase the realistic effect.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show details of a panoramic viewing arrangement 200having a rotating top cylindrical section 202 pivotally supported by abase cylindrical section 204. A hand rail 206 is secured to the rotatingtop section to allow a user to rotate the top section about a verticalaxis of the base section 204. The panoramic viewing arrangement 200includes a viewing area 208 which is observed by a viewer. The viewingarea is a result of the image being projected from the video displaytube 220 which is reflected off the mirror 210 to present the image atthe viewing area 208. This type of arrangement uses folded optictechniques to space the viewer from the video display screen 222 of thevideo display tube 220.

The video display tube 220 is supported by support 226 provided in therotating top section 202, and the power and video in cable 224 extendsthrough this support surface 226. The power and video in cable 224passes through the shaft fastener 228 and enters the hollow shaft 232which passes out of the bottom of the top section 208 and extends intothe stationary base section 204. The hollow shaft 232 passes through thebottom support 230 of the rotating top section 202 and the shaftfastener 228 is secured to this bottom support 230. With thisarrangement, the hollow shaft 232 rotates with rotation of the topsection 202.

A large bearing arrangement 234 is provided at the bottom of the topsection 202 and the upper part of the base section 204 to secure the twosections and to allow rotation of the top section relative to the basesection. Bearing 234 is supported on horizontal support 240 of the basesection 204. The base section 204 also includes intermediate support242, lower support 244, and a base member 246 which extends beyond thesidewalls of the base section. This enlarged base member providesadditional stability for the panoramic viewing arrangement 200.

An optical shaft encoder 260 is provided at the base of the hollow shaft232 and accurately determines the amount of rotation of the hollow shaft232, and thus the amount of rotation of the rotating top section 202relative to the base section 204. The signal from the optical shaftencoder is then processed and used for varying the segment of a storedpanoramic image whereby the amount of movement of the top sectionresults in the appropriate change in the portion of the panoramic imageviewed. Thus, if a 360° panorama is stored in a buffer and the videodisplay unit 220 displays approximately a 90° segment. The 90° segmentof the panoramic image that is displayed, is determined by the opticalshaft encoder to preferably correspond to the direction of the rotatingtop section 202. Thus, when the rotating top section is generally facingnorth, the portion of the panoramic image that faces north is displayed.Similarly, if the unit is facing west, the west portion of the panoramicimage is viewed. In this way, a person seeking to view the entirepanoramic image must rotate the top section 202 by means of the handle206 and physically move his own body to view the new panorama. Thismatching of the person's body movement to a preferably equalcorresponding movement in the selected portion of the panorama viewed,provides sensory feedback to the user similar to what would actuallyoccur if the user was viewing the actual panorama, as this approachforces the user to move thereby changing the points of reference abouthim as the points of reference change in the viewed panorama. Thus, thedevice forces the user to go through a physical movement correspondingto the type of physical movement that would normally be encountered toachieve that result. A person's fast movement results in a fast movementof the selected segment and some blurring which also corresponds withwhat would happen in real life should a person quickly change theirdirection. They do not have a continuous focus, but rather a blurredfocus until they stop and refocus at the desired location. This effectalso occurs with the present system.

The present system is preferably designed to have a one to onecorrespondence with movement of the person through a certain anglerelative to the movement of the panorama through a certain angle.Although this is desired, it is certainly not limited to this and theremay be certain applications where it would be advantageous to have adifferent correspondency rather than one to one. Any linked movementcontrolled by the user is within the scope of the present invention.

The panoramic viewing arrangement, as shown in FIG. 12, results in acoordination of the user or an interaction of the user with theapparatus to cause the user to go through certain physical movementswhich generally correspond to movements that he would actually have tocarry out for viewing of the actual panorama corresponding to the imagestored in the buffer. The panoramic viewing arrangement when rotatedcauses a different portion of the panorama to be displayed by the videodisplay tube 220.

Rotation of the top section 202 relative to the base section 204 causessome problems with respect to the power and video in cable 224. Thisassumes that the memory buffer arrangement and the computer forselective viewing of the buffer arrangement is exterior to the topsection 202. In order to allow rotation of the top section 202, excesscable 274 is provided in the base section 204. This excess cable allowsfor a large amount of rotation of the top section 202 relative to thebase before any damage to this cable could occur. The cable between theoptical shaft encoder and the top section merely rotates with the topsection and thus, all wrapping of the cable occurs in the lower portionof the base section 204. The shaft encoder outputs to the computer (notshown) via cable 276. The signal from the optical shaft encoder isprocessed to provide the necessary adjustment of the segment of thestored panorama viewed. This is explained with respect to the earlierdrawings.

The panoramic viewing arrangement 200 does include an arrangement forlimiting the extent that the top section 202 may be rotated relative tothe base portion 204 to avoid overwinding of the power and video incable 224. This limiting arrangement is partially defined by the smallpulley wheel 250 secured to the hollow shaft 232 in combination with thelarge pulley wheel 252 offset from the hollow shaft 232. The largepulley wheel 252 is supported by means of a shaft 261 verticallysupported by means of bearings 260. Pulley wheels 250 and 252 areconnected via the pulley belt 254.

As can be seen in FIG. 13, a tension idler pulley 270 is provided whichmerely serves to appropriately tension the pulley belt 254 relative tothe pulley wheels 250 and 252. Pulley wheel 250 is much smaller incircumference than the larger pulley wheel 252. There is an approximate8 to 1 relationship between these two pulley wheel circumferences.Rotation of the hollow shaft 232 causes rotation of the small pulleywheel 250 and a corresponding rotation of the pulley wheel 252.Associated with pulley wheel 252 is a stop bolt 256 which is adapted toengage the fixed stop 258. When the stop bolt 256 is directly oppositethe fixed stop 258, the power video in cable 274 is in a neutralposition, or generally neutral position. Rotation of the top section 202will cause the stop bolt to rotate relative to the fixed stop 258, andwith sufficient rotation, will cause the stop bolt 256 to strike thefixed stop 258, as generally shown in FIG. 13. Further rotation of thetop section in this direction is opposed by the engagement of the stopbolt 256 and the fixed stop 258. Some rotation can occur only as aresult of slippage of the belt 254 on the large pulley wheel 252. Thus,some slippage is accommodated in the stop position, however the userwill quickly recognize that there is some binding going on and willrotate the device in the opposite direction. Sufficient rotation of thetop section 202 in the opposite direction will result in the stop bolt256 striking the opposite side of the fixed stop 258 and a similar lockup will occur. Thus, this pulley arrangement provides a very simplemeans for limiting the amount of tension or stress than can be placed onthe power and video in cable 224 to avoid any damage thereof.

Rotational couplings could also be used to avoid this winding of cables,however such couplings are not generally used with respect to videocables. If such a coupling was used, there would be no need to providethe stop arrangement as described with respect to FIG. 13.

The device has been described with respect to an optical shaft encoderfor sensing rotational movement of the rotatable top section relative tothe base section and producing a proportional signal for varying theviewed segment of the stored panoramic image. It can be appreciated thatother devices for tracking this rotational and varying the image viewedcan be used.

A further approach with respect to the unit, as shown in FIG. 12, isincorporating the computer and frame buffer in the rotating section 202whereby only the power for driving these components need be connected toa rotating coupling. Rotating couplings for power components arecertainly much more widely used and readily available. Thus, byproviding the computer and frame buffer within the rotating top section202, the stop arrangement would not be required.

With the stand as generally shown in FIG. 12, one computer can processthe signals received from several shaft encoding devices of separatepanoramic viewing arrangements 200 and thus, the cost for such multipleunits would be less, as the computer could be shared by several suchunits.

The use of the panoramic viewing arrangement of FIG. 12 has beendescribed with respect to a single user however it is apparent thisarrangement can be shared by two or more people with all usersexperiencing the same interaction with the changing reference points ofthe users as the reference points in the viewed panoramic image change.Thus shared viewing is possible at no additional cost which introducesthe benefits of user interaction in viewing the stored image or images.

Although the panoramic viewing arrangement has been described withrespect to the structure as generally shown in FIG. 12, a lower costarrangement is possible where the rotating top section generally stopsat support 226 which forms the upper surface of the rotating topsection. The user then connects a separate video display terminal to theviewing arrangement to provide a similar structure. This modifiedarrangement is certainly less expensive than the dedicated type unitshown with respect to FIG. 12.

In some applications, the video display arrangement shown in FIG. 12 canbe modified to provide, for example, four separate viewing areas withinthe rotating top section 202. This might be particularly advantageous attourist sites where various users could be located about the unit. Allunits would be rotated simultaneously or with the rotating top section202 and the segment of the panoramic viewed by each unit would beappropriately adjusted. Thus, although the panoramic viewing arrangement200 shows one video display unit suitable for generally one user orusers orientated in one direction, multiple units within the panoramicviewing arrangement are possible to allow multiple viewing, albeit thesemultiple viewings will be in different directions.

The modified rotatable control described with respect to FIG. 12 couldsupport a image projecting arrangement whereby the projected image iscaptured on a screen about the rotatable control. Rotation of thecontrol varies the segment of the panoramic image projected.

It has been found, with the panoramic viewing arrangement of the presentinvention, that it is superior to static viewing situations such asjoysticks, in that the user experiences normal body feedback sensationsresulting from a change in viewing direction in combination with thechange in the image displayed. Thus, the present invention links in anefficient and effective manner a person's normal body functions used toview a real panorama with a user changeable panoramic image. Thestructure causes the person to use similar body movements for viewing ofthe recorded panorama image as are required for viewing the actualpanorama.

The preferred panoramic viewing arrangement of FIG. 12 or the modifiedstructure as described with respect to FIG. 12 provides a simple costeffective mechanism which is extremely user friendly and allows theindividual to easily use the device and quickly understand how thedevice works. This arrangement is considered particularly useful for anyapplication where it is desirable to view panorama images and have abetter feel for body response in association with this viewing.Applications will certainly be apparent to architects who are trying toconvince clients with respect to a particular location or how thislocation impacts upon certain plans that they have, as well as otherapplications such as tourist applications, as but two examples.

The viewing arrangement as disclosed in FIGS. 12 and 13 provide a lowcost alternative to the much higher cost alternative of video glasses.

Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilledin the art, that variations may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY ORPRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
 1. A system for viewing ofa real panoramic image comprising:frame buffer means for digitallystoring the real panoramic image, and means for viewing of a selectedsegment of the stored real panoramic image, said viewing means includinguser controlled movable viewing screen means, said movable viewingscreen means displaying the selected segment of the stored realpanoramic image, said viewing means having sensing means for sensingrotational movement of said viewing means and in accordance with thesensed rotational movement adjusting the selected segment of the storedreal panoramic image stored in the frame buffer means, whereby the userselectively moves said viewing screen means to vary the selected segmentof the stored real panoramic image displayed by said viewing screenmeans.
 2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said viewing screenmeans is a video display terminal mounted on a rotatable base andincluding handle means for rotating said rotatable base about a verticalaxis, said rotatable base including means for sensing the rotationalposition of said base which forms part of said sensing means for sensingrotational movement of said viewing means.
 3. A system as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said user controlled viewing means is a pair of videoglasses.
 4. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said viewing screenmeans is suitable for viewing by a plurality of users simultaneously. 5.A system as claimed in claim 4 wherein said sensing means for sensingrotational movement of said viewing means includes an optical shaftencoder which is rotated with rotation of said base and produces anoutput signal for varying said selected segment of the real panoramicimage viewed.
 6. A video display viewing table comprising a base portionand a top section rotatable relative to said base portion and supportedrelative to said base portion by a shaft fixed to rotate with said topsection and bearingly supported in said base portion, said shaft drivingan optical shaft encoder whereby rotation of said top section relativeto said base portion can be sensed and estimated by said optical shaftencoder.
 7. A video display viewing table as claimed in claim 6 whereinsaid shaft includes a further pulley and belt driving a larger rotationlimiting pulley having a stop surface thereon which cooperates with afixed stop surface secured to said base portion whereby after apredetermined rotation of said top portion relative to said base portionfurther rotation in the same direction is opposed by engagement of saidstop surfaces.
 8. A video display viewing table as claimed in claim 7wherein said shaft is hollow.
 9. A video display viewing table asclaimed in claim 8 including a tension idler disposed between saidrotation limiting pulley and said shaft to tighten the pulley belttherebetween while allowing some slippage therebetween when said lockingsurfaces are in engagement.